The Taylor family lives in the Natomas community in Sacramento, California. On August 24, 2012, Brad and Jennifer were driving home with their two young children when they saw smoke in their neighborhood. As they got closer to home, they realized that their house was on fire. Jennifer jumped out of the car to get the family’s elderly dog and two cats to safety while Brad drove the kids to their grandmother’s house down the street. Though shaken, both Brad and Jennifer were relieved that no one had been hurt. “It’s just a fire,” Brad said. “It can all be replaced.”

Little did they know that, thanks to regulations created by the Federal Emergency Managment Agency in the wake of Hurricane Katrina — which hit land thousands of miles away from Sacramento — their rebuilding nightmare was just beginning.